JP2018137518A - Image processing device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing device and a program that can set a safekeeping time limit of a document on the basis of image data corresponding to the document.SOLUTION: An image processing device 2 includes: an image acquisition unit 52 for acquiring image data; a time limit information detection unit 56 for detecting, on the basis of the image data, safekeeping time limit information 90 to determine a safekeeping time limit of a document P1 on which the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 52 is printed; a time limit setting unit 58 for setting a safekeeping time limit 94 on the basis of the detected safekeeping time limit information 90 if the time limit information detection unit 56 detects the safekeeping time limit information 90; and a time limit display addition unit 60 for adding a time limit display 100 based on the safekeeping time limit 94 set by the time limit setting unit 58 to the image data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a program, and more particularly to a technique for setting a storage period for a document.

  Conventionally, when a document or image is printed out, the management method of how to store and discard the document generated by the print output is left to the person who owns the document. However, the person who has taken over the document from the previous owner due to the transfer or retirement of the person who owns the document does not necessarily take over the document management method.

  In this case, particularly when there is not enough takeover regarding the disposal time of the document, a situation occurs in which the document to be discarded still remains in the office, and the storage space is occupied. Therefore, it is conceivable to display the storage deadline of the printed document on the document.

  By the way, when printing out image data, there is provided a printing apparatus that saves the image data in a storage device of the own apparatus for a predetermined period after executing a print job for outputting the image data (Patent Document 1). . The printing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 prints a date on which image data stored in a storage device is erased on a document in which the image data is printed out. As a result, the owner of the document can recognize how long the image data corresponding to the document has been stored in the printing apparatus.

JP 2006-166214 A

  According to the printing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the period for storing the printed image data in the storage device is set in advance, and is not set according to the printed document. However, documents usually have different periods of storage or expiration according to their contents and properties. Nevertheless, the printing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the retention period cannot be set according to the contents and properties of the document.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an image processing apparatus and program capable of setting a storage period of a document based on image data corresponding to the document. .

  In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is directed to an image acquisition unit that acquires image data, and a storage period for determining a storage period of a print medium on which the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit is printed. Time limit information detecting means for detecting information based on the image data, and when the storage time limit information is detected by the time limit information detecting means, the storage time limit is set based on the detected storage time limit information An image processing apparatus comprising: a time limit setting unit; and a time limit adding unit that adds a time limit display based on the storage time limit set by the time limit setting unit to the image data.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the image processing apparatus further comprises storage means for preliminarily storing time limit setting information that associates the storage time limit information with the storage time limit, and the time limit setting means includes the storage The storage deadline corresponding to the storage deadline information detected by the deadline information detection means is set with reference to the deadline setting information stored in the means.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the time limit information detecting unit detects predetermined attribute information of the image data as the storage time limit information, and the time limit setting unit includes: The storage time limit is set according to the predetermined attribute information detected by the time limit information detecting means.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the time limit information detecting unit analyzes the image data acquired by the image acquiring unit to obtain the storage time limit information. It is the structure characterized by detecting.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, when the storage deadline information is not detected by the deadline information detection unit, the user is requested to input the storage deadline. Requesting means for adding a time limit display to the image data based on the input storage time limit when the storage time limit is input in response to a request from the requesting means. It is the structure characterized by these.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, further comprising: an instruction receiving unit that receives a print instruction input; and a job execution unit that executes a print job. When the print instruction input is received by the instruction receiving unit, the image data is acquired, and the job execution unit adds the deadline display when the deadline display is added to the image data. The print job is executed based on the image data, and the execution of the print job based on the image data is restricted when the time limit display is not added to the image data.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, an instruction receiving means for receiving a print instruction input and a print job are generated, and the generated print job is subjected to predetermined printing. A job transmission unit for transmitting to the output device, wherein the image acquisition unit acquires the image data when the instruction reception unit receives the print instruction input, and the job transmission unit displays the time limit display. When not added, generation or transmission of a print job based on the image data is restricted.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the determination unit determines whether or not the time limit display is added to the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit. The expiration date information detection unit does not detect the storage expiration date information when the determination unit determines that the expiration date display is added to the image data. is there.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus according to the eighth aspect, when the time limit setting unit determines that the time limit display is added by the determination unit, the time limit setting unit is updated based on the time limit display. A storage time limit is set, and the time limit adding means replaces the time limit display with a time limit display corresponding to the update storage time limit.

  The invention according to claim 10 is a program executed in an image processing apparatus, wherein the image processing apparatus is printed with image acquisition means for acquiring image data and the image data acquired by the image acquisition means. A storage period information detecting unit that detects storage period information for determining a storage period of the print medium based on the image data, and the storage period detected when the storage period information is detected by the period information detection unit A period setting unit configured to set the storage period based on information; and a period addition unit configured to add a period display based on the storage period set by the period setting unit to the image data. is there.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the program according to the tenth aspect, the image processing apparatus includes storage means for preliminarily storing time limit setting information that associates the storage time limit information with the storage time limit, and the time limit setting. The means is configured to set the storage time limit corresponding to the storage time limit information detected by the time limit information detection means with reference to the time limit setting information stored in the storage means. .

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the program according to the tenth or eleventh aspect, the time limit information detecting unit detects predetermined attribute information of the image data as the storage time limit information, and the time limit setting unit is configured to detect the time limit. The storage period is set according to the predetermined attribute information detected by the information detection means.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the invention, in the program according to any one of the tenth to twelfth aspects, the time limit information detecting unit detects the storage time limit information by analyzing the image data acquired by the image acquiring unit. It is the structure characterized by this.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the program according to any one of the tenth to thirteenth aspects, when the storage time limit information is not detected by the time limit information detection unit, the image processing apparatus is informed to the user of the storage time limit Further functioning as request means for requesting the input of the image, the time limit adding means displays a time limit display based on the input storage time limit when the storage time limit is input in response to a request by the request means. This configuration is characterized by being added to data.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the program according to any one of the tenth to fourteenth aspects, the image processing apparatus is configured to determine whether the time limit display is added to the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit. It further functions as a determination means for determining, and the time limit information detection means does not execute detection of the storage time limit information when the determination means determines that the time limit display is added to the image data. This is a characteristic configuration.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the program according to the fifteenth aspect, when the time limit setting unit determines that the time limit display is added by the determination unit, the update storage time limit is based on the time limit display. And the time limit adding means replaces the time limit display with a time limit display corresponding to the update storage time limit.

  According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the program according to any one of the tenth to sixteenth aspects, the image processing apparatus further functions as an instruction receiving unit that receives a print instruction input and a job execution unit that executes a print job. The image acquisition unit acquires the image data when a print instruction input is received by the instruction reception unit, and the job execution unit displays the time limit display when the time limit display is added to the image data. A print job is executed based on the image data to which is added, and execution of the print job based on the image data is restricted when the time limit display is not added to the image data. It is.

  The invention according to claim 18 is the program according to any one of claims 10 to 16, wherein the image processing apparatus is configured to generate a print job, an instruction receiving unit that receives a print instruction input, and the generated print job. The image acquisition unit acquires the image data when the print instruction input is received by the instruction reception unit, and the job transmission unit includes: When the term display is not added, generation or transmission of a print job based on the image data is limited.

  According to the present invention, since the storage deadline of the document corresponding to the image data is set based on the image data, it is possible to set the storage deadline according to the document.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the image processing system in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the hardware constitutions and functional structure of the image processing apparatus in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of detection setting information. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of time limit setting information. It is a figure which shows an example of a detection of a time limit display and storage time limit information. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of a storage term input request screen. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the main process procedures performed in the image processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a storage time limit setting process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a time limit input process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a storage time limit update process. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of job generation processing. It is a figure which shows the example of 1 structure of the image processing apparatus in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the hardware constitutions and functional structure of the image processing apparatus in 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in embodiment described below, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the member which is mutually common, and the overlapping description about them is abbreviate | omitted.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image processing system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The image processing system 1 connects an image processing apparatus 2 that can generate a print job based on image data, a print output apparatus 3 that can execute the print job, and the image processing apparatus 2 and the print output apparatus 3 so that they can communicate with each other. And a network 5 constituted by a LAN (Local Area Network) or the like.

  The image processing apparatus 2 is configured by a personal computer (PC) in which a driver program 20 that functions as a driver 32 that can generate a print job by being executed by the CPU 16 is installed. An operation unit 7 including a keyboard and a display unit 9 including a liquid crystal display capable of displaying image data and the like are provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the image processing apparatus 2 includes an application program 22. The application program 22 is executed by the CPU 16 and functions as an application 30 that can generate image data including the document D1. The print output device 3 has at least a print output function, and is configured by, for example, an MFP (Multi Functional Peripherals).

  When the image processing apparatus 2 detects a print output instruction to print out the document D <b> 1 generated by the application 30, the image processing apparatus 2 executes the driver program 20 and functions as the driver 32. In a state where the driver 32 is functioning, the image processing apparatus 2 sets a storage deadline 94 for a document generated by printing out the document D1 based on the document D1. The setting of the storage time limit 94 will be described later. The image processing apparatus 2 adds a time limit display 100 corresponding to the set storage time limit 94 to a predetermined location of the document D1. When the image processing apparatus 2 generates the print job J1 based on the document D1 to which the time limit display 100 is added, the image processing apparatus 2 transmits the print job J1 to the print output apparatus 3 via the network 5.

  When the print output device 3 receives the print job J1 from the image processing device 2, the print output device 3 executes the received print job J1 and outputs the document P1. A deadline display 100 indicating the storage deadline of the document P1 is displayed on the output document P1. The acquirer of the document P1 can easily recognize the storage period of the document P1 because the period display 100 is displayed on the document P1. Each configuration of the image processing system 1 that displays a deadline display 100 corresponding to the storage deadline of the document P1 on the document P1 generated by printing out the document D1 will be described below.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration and a functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 2. The image processing apparatus 2 includes an operation unit 7, a display unit 9, a CPU 16, and a storage unit 18 including a hard disk drive (HDD). The storage unit 18 stores a driver program 20 and an application program 22. The CPU 16 functions as the application 30 by executing the application program 22. The application 30 generates a document D1 in response to a user operation. When receiving the print setting instruction from the user, the application 30 requests the operating system (OS) (not shown) to execute the driver program 20. When the driver program 20 is executed by the operating system, the CPU 16 functions as the driver 32.

  The driver 32 acquires the document D1 from the application 30. The driver 32 generates a print job in response to an operation input by the user and transmits it to the print output device 3. The driver 32 includes an instruction receiving unit 50 that receives a user's print execution instruction, an image acquisition unit 52 that acquires the document D1 from the application 30, and whether the time limit display 100 is added to the document D1 acquired by the image acquisition unit 52. A determination unit 54 for determining whether or not, a time limit information detection unit 56 for detecting storage time limit information 90 from the document D1, and a time limit for setting the storage time limit 94 based on the storage time limit information 90 detected by the time limit information detection unit 56 A setting unit 58, a time limit display adding unit 60 for adding a time limit display 100 corresponding to the storage time limit 94 set by the time limit setting unit 58 to the document D1, and a job transmission for generating a print job and transmitting it to the print output device 3 Part 62.

  Further, the driver 32 includes an input request unit 70 that requests the user to input the storage deadline 94 when the storage deadline information 90 is not detected, and an input reception unit 72 that receives an input of the storage deadline 94 by the user.

  The instruction receiving unit 50 is a processing unit that receives a print output instruction for the document D1. When a print output instruction is received by the instruction receiving unit 50, the image acquisition unit 52 functions. The image acquisition unit 52 is a processing unit that acquires image data corresponding to a print output instruction. In the present embodiment, when the instruction receiving unit 50 receives a print output instruction for the document D1, the image acquiring unit 52 acquires the document D1.

  The determination unit 54 is a processing unit that determines whether or not the time limit display 100 is added to the document D1 acquired by the image acquisition unit 52. For example, the determination unit 54 analyzes the document D1 and determines whether or not the time limit display 100 is added. The deadline display 100 is displayed in a predetermined display mode, for example, displayed at a predetermined position in the document D1, or displayed with a predetermined symbol, for example, a predetermined symbol is added before and after the date display. Displayed in a manner.

  When the document D1 is image data including a bitmap, the determination unit 54 performs character recognition processing on the document D1. The term display 100 is detected from the characters recognized by the character recognition process. As a detection method of the deadline display 100, for example, a character displayed at a predetermined position is detected as described above, or a character displayed with a predetermined symbol or the like is detected. When the time limit display 100 is detected by such a detection method, the determination unit 54 determines that the time limit display 100 is added to the document D1.

  If the determination unit 54 determines that the time limit display 100 is added to the document D1, the job transmission unit 62 functions. The job transmission unit 62 generates a print job based on the document D1 to which the time limit display 100 is added, and transmits the print job to the print output device 3.

  When the determination unit 54 determines that the time limit display 100 is not added to the document D1, the time limit information detection unit 56 functions. The deadline information detection unit 56 is a processing unit that detects the storage deadline information 90 that determines the storage deadline 94 of the document P1 generated by printing the document D1 based on the document D1. The time limit information detection unit 56 may detect the storage time limit information 90 from attribute information such as the application that generated the document D1 and the file format. Alternatively, the time limit information detection unit 56 may analyze the document D1 and detect the creation date of the document D1, a predetermined keyword, and the like as the storage time limit information 90.

  The term information detection unit 56 refers to the detection setting information 28 stored in advance in the storage unit 18. The detection setting information 28 is information that defines a detection method for detecting the storage expiration information 90 from the document D1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the detection setting information 28. The detection setting information 28 associates the detection method of the storage expiration information 90 for the document D1 with the storage expiration information 90 detected according to the detection method. As detection methods, for example, application detection for detecting the application that created the document D1, file name detection for detecting the file name given to the document D1, file format detection for detecting the file format of the document D1, and document D1 Keyword detection is provided for detecting a predetermined keyword from. Which of these detection methods is used to detect the storage expiration information 90 may be set in advance by the administrator or may be set in advance by the user.

  In the example shown in the drawing, application detection is set to be executed. In this case, the time limit information detection unit 56 refers to the detection setting information 28 and executes application detection. Specifically, the time limit information detection unit 56 confirms the application that created the document D1 based on the document D1. When the document D1 is created by the application A or the application B, the time limit information detection unit 56 detects the application that created the document D1 as the storage time limit information 90. On the other hand, when the document D1 is created by an application other than the application A or the application B, the time limit information detection unit 56 causes the input request unit 70 to function as the storage time limit information 90 is not detected. The input request unit 70 requests the user to input the storage deadline 94 for the document P1. The processing by the input request unit 70 will be described later.

  Unlike the example of FIG. 3, the detection setting information 28 can be set to execute a plurality of detection methods based on the priority order. For example, when priorities are assigned in the order of application detection, file name detection, and keyword detection, the time limit information detection unit 56 first executes application detection, and when the storage time limit information 90 is detected, the time limit setting unit 58 It functions to set the storage deadline 94 of the document P1 according to the detected storage deadline information 90. In this case, the time limit information detection unit 56 ends the process of detecting the storage time limit information without performing file name detection and keyword detection.

  On the other hand, when the storage deadline information 90 is not detected by application detection, the deadline information detection unit 56 performs file name detection. When the storage deadline information 90 is detected by the file name detection, the storage deadline 94 is set by the deadline setting unit 58 based on the detected storage deadline information 90. In this case, the time limit information detection unit 56 does not perform keyword detection. On the other hand, when the storage deadline information 90 is not detected by the file name detection, the deadline information detection unit 56 performs keyword detection.

  The detection setting information 28 may set in advance a priority relationship between a plurality of storage expiration information 90 that can be detected based on one detection method. For example, when the keyword detection is executed by the time limit information detection unit 56, the document creation date, the keyword A, and the keyword B may be detected as the storage time limit information 90. Therefore, in the detection setting information 28, priorities between the storage deadline information 90 are set in advance, for example, when the document creation date is detected as the first rank and the first rank storage deadline information 90 is not detected, the next rank storage is performed. The deadline information 90 is detected.

  Returning to FIG. 2, when the storage deadline information 90 is detected by the deadline information detection unit 56, the deadline setting unit 58 is a processing unit that sets the storage deadline 94 of the document P <b> 1 based on the detected storage deadline information 90. is there. The time limit setting unit 58 refers to the time limit setting information 26 stored in advance in the storage unit 18 and sets the storage time limit 94 based on the detected storage time limit information 90. The time limit setting information 26 is information that associates the storage time limit information 90 with the storage time limit 94. The time limit setting unit 58 refers to the time limit setting information 26 and sets the storage time limit 94 associated with the storage time limit information 90 detected by the time limit information detection unit 56 as the storage time limit 94 of the document P1.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the time limit setting information 26. The time limit setting information 26 includes a storage time limit 94 corresponding to the storage time limit information 90 detected by the time limit information detection unit 56. For example, when application A is detected as the storage deadline information 90 by application detection, the date one year after the print execution date is set as the storage deadline 94. When the application B is detected as the storage deadline information 90, a date six months after the print execution date is set as the storage deadline 94. For example, when the application B is an application that generates a predetermined form document, the deadline setting unit 58 prints out the form document based on the deadline setting information 26 in order to strictly manage the generated form document. The period for storing the document P1 generated by the above is set shorter than that of a general document.

  In the illustrated example, when the document creation date is detected as the storage deadline information 90, deadline setting information 26a is provided that associates one year after the document creation date as the storage deadline 94. When the creation date of the document D1 is detected as the storage deadline information 90 by the deadline information detection unit 56, the deadline setting unit 58 refers to the deadline setting information 26a and sets a date one year after the detected creation date. Set to the storage period 94. By setting the date one year after the creation date of the document D1 to the storage deadline 94 by the time limit setting unit 58, it is possible to set the storage time limit 94 according to a period during which the document D1 can be used effectively. .

  If the date of the storage deadline 94 set based on the creation date of the document D1 has already passed, the job sending unit 62 may not generate a print job based on the document D1. . By preventing the document P1 that has passed the storage period 94 from being generated, document management can be made thorough. On the other hand, if the date of the storage deadline 94 has already passed, the deadline setting unit 58 may discard the storage deadline 94 and set a further storage deadline 94. The time limit setting unit 58 includes calendar information (not shown), and determines whether the set storage time limit 94 has already passed. If the storage time limit 94 has already passed, the time limit setting unit 58 sets a further storage time limit 94. For example, the time limit setting unit 58 sets the date after a predetermined period from the print execution date as the storage time limit 94. Alternatively, if the expiration date setting unit 58 determines that the storage expiration date 94 has passed, the expiration date information detection unit 56 determines that the storage expiration information 90 is different from the storage expiration information 90 corresponding to the storage expiration date 94. 90 may be detected. For example, when the document creation date is detected as the storage deadline information 90 by keyword detection, the storage deadline information 90 is detected by a detection method different from the keyword detection. The term information detection unit 56 may detect the storage term information 90 by a detection method set in the detection method subordinate to the keyword detection in the detection setting information 28. When the storage deadline information 90 is detected by the deadline information detection unit 56, the deadline setting unit 58 sets the storage deadline 94 based on the detected storage deadline information 90. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the storage deadline 94 that has already passed is set.

  Furthermore, when the storage deadline 94 is set, the time limit setting unit 58 refers to the calendar information, and discards the set storage time limit 94 when the period until the set storage time limit 94 is less than a predetermined number of days. A storage period 94 may be set. The further storage period 94 is set based on the method described above.

  In the example of FIG. 4, the time limit setting information 26 includes time limit setting information 26 b in which the keyword B associates a predetermined date with the storage time limit information 90 as the storage time limit 94. For example, when the keyword B associated with the document P1 that is prohibited from being held after a predetermined date due to company regulations or the like is detected as the storage deadline information 90, the deadline setting unit 58 sets the predetermined date as the storage deadline 94. The time limit setting unit 58 may not set the storage time limit 94 when it is determined that the predetermined date has passed by referring to the calendar information. In this case, the time limit display 100 is not added to the document D1 by the time limit display adding unit 60. If the deadline display 100 is not added to the document D1, the job transmission unit 62 does not generate a print job. As a result, when the expiration date for allowing possession of the document P1 has passed, the print job based on the document D1 is not generated, so that the generation of the document P1 can be restricted.

  Furthermore, when the keyword B is detected as the storage deadline information 90, the deadline setting information 26 may be associated with a predetermined date such as the fiscal year-end date as the storage deadline 94 corresponding thereto. As an example, when the keyword B is a keyword associated with an accounting book in a predetermined fiscal year, the deadline setting information 26 associates the last day of the fiscal year included in the keyword B as the storage deadline 94. The time limit setting unit 58 sets the fiscal year end date as the storage time limit 94 based on the keyword B of the time limit setting information 26b. Further, the time limit setting unit 58 further refers to the calendar information to determine whether or not the storage time limit 94 has already been missed. If it is determined that the time limit has passed, the set storage time limit 94 is discarded. The storage period 94 may not be set.

  Returning to FIG. 2, when the storage period 94 is set by the period setting unit 58, the period display giving unit 60 functions. The term display giving unit 60 is a processing unit that adds a term display 100 based on the storage term 94 set by the term setting unit 58 to the document D1. As a result, when the document D1 is printed out, the time limit display 100 is added, so the time limit display 100 is displayed on the document P1 generated by printing out the document D1.

  The term display giving unit 60 adds a term display 100 to a predetermined area of the document D1. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the document D1 to which the time limit display 100 is added. The time limit display giving unit 60 adds a time limit display 100 in a predetermined area such as a header portion or a footer portion in the document D1, for example. As a display mode of the time limit display 100, a date may be surrounded by a frame as shown in the figure, or, unlike this, a mode in which a predetermined code or symbol is attached before and after the date may be used.

  The job transmission unit 62 is a processing unit that generates the print job J1 and transmits the generated print job J1 to the print output apparatus 3. The job transmission unit 62 generates a print job J1 based on the document D1 to which the time limit display 100 is added, and transmits the print job J1 to the print output apparatus 3. On the other hand, when the time limit display 100 is not added to the document D1, the job transmission unit 62 prohibits the generation of the print job J1 based on the document D1. Alternatively, the job transmission unit 62 generates the print job J1 based on the document D1 to which the deadline display 100 is not added, but may prohibit transmission of the generated print job J1.

  In the example of FIG. 5, when the document D1 is acquired by the image acquisition unit 52, the determination unit 54 determines whether or not the time limit display 100 is added to the document D1. As described above, the time limit display 100 is added in a predetermined area such as a header part or a footer part. The deadline display 100 is displayed in a predetermined display mode. The determination unit 54 analyzes the document D1 and determines whether or not the time limit display 100 is added.

  When the time limit display 100 is detected by the determination unit 54, the job transmission unit 62 functions to generate a print job J1 based on the document D1 to which the time limit display 100 is added and transmit it to the print output apparatus 3. In contrast, when the deadline display 100 is detected, the determination unit 54 refers to calendar information (not shown) provided in advance to determine whether or not the date corresponding to the deadline display 100 has already been missed. May be. When the date corresponding to the term display 100 has already passed, the job sending unit 62 does not function, but the term setting unit 58 functions to set the updated storage term 94 (update storage term). May be. Further, the determination unit 54 may determine whether or not the remaining number of days until the date corresponding to the time limit display 100 is less than a predetermined number of days with reference to the calendar information. Then, when the remaining number of days is less than the predetermined number of days, the expiration date setting unit 58 may function to set an updated storage expiration date 94 (update storage expiration date). The updated storage deadline 94 is set using the same method as that used when the date corresponding to the deadline display 100 shown below has already passed.

  Specifically, when the determination unit 54 determines that the date corresponding to the expiration date display 100 has already passed, the expiration date setting unit 58 functions and the storage expiration date 94 (updated) based on the expiration date display 100. Set the storage period. As an example, the time limit setting unit 58 sets a date after a predetermined period from the current date (print execution date) as the storage time limit 94. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the document P1 to which the deadline display 100 that has already passed is added from being printed out.

  Alternatively, when the determination unit 54 determines that the date corresponding to the expiration date display 100 has already passed, the expiration date detection unit 56 functions to detect the storage expiration information 90 based on the document D1. Good. In this case, the time limit setting unit 58 sets a storage time limit 94 (update storage time limit) based on the storage time limit information 90 detected by the time limit information detection unit 56. For example, when the document creation date 130 in the example of FIG. 5 is detected based on the keyword detection, the time limit setting unit 58 may set the storage time limit 94 (update storage time limit) based on the time limit setting information 26. . The time limit information detection unit 56 analyzes the title part 110 including the description of the title in the document D1, the document creation date 130, and the body part 120 including the description of the text as the content of the document, and thereby analyzes the document creation date 130. Or a predetermined keyword is detected as the storage term information 90.

  Alternatively, the time limit setting unit 58 calculates a period between the detected document creation date 130 and the time limit display 100 and adds the calculated period to the current date (print execution date). The date may be set as a storage deadline 94 (update storage deadline). As a result, when the time limit display 100 is added to the document D1 by the user, the output document P1 can be stored without being discarded until the period intended by the user elapses. Become.

  When the storage deadline 94 (update storage deadline) is set by the deadline setting unit 58, the deadline display giving unit 60 replaces the deadline display 100 with a deadline display 100 corresponding to the set storage deadline 94 (update storage deadline). In the example of FIG. 5, the time limit display giving unit 60 deletes the time limit display 100 already added to the document D1 and displays the time limit according to the storage time limit 94 (update storage time limit) set by the time limit setting unit 58. 100 is added. As a result, the time limit display 100 can be updated.

  When the determination unit 54 determines that the date corresponding to the deadline display 100 has already passed, the job transmission unit 62 generates the document D1 to which the deadline display 100 is added or sends it to the print output device 3. Transmission may be prohibited. That is, it is possible to perform strict document management by not printing out the document D1 whose date corresponding to the deadline display 100 has already passed.

  Returning to FIG. 2, when the expiration date display 100 is not detected by the determination unit 54 and the storage expiration date information 90 is not detected from the document D1 by the expiration date information detection unit 56, the input request unit 70 functions. The input request unit 70 is a processing unit that requests the user to input the storage deadline 94 when the storage deadline information 90 is not detected by the deadline information detection unit 56. When the storage deadline information 90 is not detected by the deadline information detection unit 56, the input request unit 70 generates a request screen G 1 for requesting input of the storage deadline 94 and displays it on the display unit 9. Screen information corresponding to the request screen G1 is stored in the storage unit 18 in advance (not shown).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the request screen G1. The request screen G1 includes a request display 140 for requesting the user to input the storage deadline 94 and an input deadline display unit 144 for displaying the storage deadline 94 input by the user. When the request screen G1 is displayed by the input request unit 70, the input receiving unit 72 functions to receive an input of the storage deadline 94. When the user inputs the storage time limit 94 to the input time limit display unit 144 according to the instruction of the request display 140, the input receiving unit 72 receives the input storage time limit 94. Based on the storage time limit 94 received by the input receiving unit 72, the time limit display giving unit 60 adds the time limit display 100 to the document D1. When the time limit display 100 is added by the time limit display adding unit 60, the job transmitting unit 62 generates a print job J1 based on the document D1 to which the time limit display 100 is added, and transmits the print job J1 to the print output device 3. Thereby, even when the storage deadline information 90 is not detected in the document D1, the deadline display 100 can be added based on the storage deadline 94.

  The input receiving unit 72 receives an input of the storage time limit 94 until a predetermined time elapses. When a predetermined time elapses without the input of the storage period 94 being detected, the input request unit 70 deletes the request screen G1 from the display unit 9 and displays an error message on the display unit 9 indicating that the print job J1 is not generated. Display. In this case, since the deadline display adding unit 60 does not add the deadline display 100 to the document D1, the job transmitting unit 62 does not generate the print job J1. As a result, if the user does not input the storage deadline 94 within a predetermined time, it is possible to prevent the print job J1 from being generated and the document P1 without the deadline display 100 from being generated.

  Next, a processing procedure performed in the image processing apparatus 2 in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of main processing procedures performed in the image processing apparatus 2. First, when the image processing apparatus 2 is activated, it is determined whether or not a print instruction from the user has been detected (step S1). If no print instruction is detected (NO in step S1), the process waits until a print instruction is detected. When a print instruction is detected (YES in step S1), the image processing apparatus 2 executes the driver program 20 and causes the CPU 16 to function as the driver 32 (step S3). Then, image data corresponding to the print instruction (in the present embodiment, the document D1 is shown as an example of image data) is acquired (step S5).

  Next, the image processing apparatus 2 determines whether or not the time limit display addition setting for adding the time limit display 100 to the document D1 is set to ON (step S7). The administrator sets whether the deadline display additional setting is on or off. Unlike this, the user may set on / off of the deadline display additional setting. If the deadline display addition setting is set to ON (YES in step S7), the image processing apparatus 2 determines whether or not the deadline display 100 is detected from the document D1 (step S9). When the time limit display 100 is detected from the document D1 (YES in step S9), a storage time limit update process (step S13) for updating the storage time limit 94 is executed. On the other hand, if the expiration date display 100 is not detected (NO in step S9), the storage expiration setting process (step S11) for setting the storage expiration 94 is executed. Specific processing procedures of the storage time limit setting process (step S11) and the storage time limit update process (step S13) will be described later.

  If the time limit display addition setting is set to OFF in step S7 (NO in step S7), the processes in steps S9 to S13 are skipped. Further, the image processing apparatus 2 executes job generation processing (step S15) for generating the print job J1. A specific processing procedure of the job generation process (step S15) will be described later.

  Finally, the image processing apparatus 2 determines whether or not an instruction input for ending the activation state has been detected (step S17), and when the termination instruction input is detected (YES in step S17), the activation state is terminated. On the other hand, when the end instruction input is not detected (NO in step S17), the process returns to step S1, and the processes of step S1 to step S17 are repeatedly executed until the end instruction input is detected.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a specific processing procedure of the storage time limit setting process (step S11 in FIG. 7). The flowchart of FIG. 8 is an example of a case where the storage deadline information 90 is detected in the order of application detection and keyword detection shown in FIG.
The image processing apparatus 2 refers to the detection setting information 28 stored in the storage unit 18 (step S21), and refers to the attribute information of the document D1 (step S23). Then, it is determined whether or not the detection setting information 28 is created based on the application included in the storage time limit information 90 (step S25).

  When the document D1 is created by an application included in the storage period information 90 (YES in step S25), the image processing apparatus 2 refers to the period setting information 26 stored in the storage unit 18 (step S27). Then, in the time limit setting information 26, a storage time limit 94 associated with the detected application is set, and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the document D1 is not created by the application included in the storage expiration information 90 (NO in step S25), the image processing apparatus 2 executes keyword detection. That is, the image processing apparatus 2 analyzes the document D1 (step S31), and determines whether or not a keyword included in the storage expiration information 90 is detected in the expiration date setting information 26 in the character string included in the document D1. (Step S33). When a keyword included in the storage period information 90 is detected (YES in step S33), the storage period 94 associated with the detected keyword is set with reference to the period setting information 26 in step S27 (step S27). S29) The process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the keyword included in the storage expiration information 90 is not detected (NO in step S33), the expiration date input process (step S35) for requesting the user to input the storage expiration 94 is executed and processed. Exit. A specific processing procedure of the time limit input processing (step S35) will be described later.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a specific processing procedure of the time limit input processing (step S8 in FIG. 8). The image processing apparatus 2 generates a request screen G1 that requests the user to input the storage deadline 94 (step S41), and causes the display unit 9 to display the generated request screen G1 (step S43).

  Then, the image processing apparatus 2 accepts input from the user. It is determined whether or not the input of the storage deadline 94 by the user has been detected (step S45), and when the input is detected (YES in step S45), the deadline input process is terminated. On the other hand, if no input is detected (NO in step S45), the image processing apparatus 2 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of input reception (step S47). The predetermined time is set in advance. If it is determined that the predetermined time has not elapsed (NO in step S47), the process returns to step S45 to determine whether an input is detected (step S45). If it is determined that the predetermined time has passed without detection of input (YES in step S47), the image processing apparatus 2 ends the time limit input process.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a specific processing procedure of the storage period update process (step S13 in FIG. 7). First, the image processing apparatus 2 refers to the calendar information (step S51). Then, it is determined whether or not the date of the deadline display 100 has already passed (step S53). If the date of the time limit display 100 has already passed (YES in step S53), the image processing apparatus 2 sets a storage time limit 94 (update storage time limit) (step S55). As a method for setting the update storage deadline, the image processing apparatus 2 may set a date obtained by adding a predetermined number of days specified in advance as the print execution date as the update storage deadline.

  On the other hand, the image processing apparatus 2 may set an update storage deadline by executing a storage deadline setting process (see FIG. 8) for the document D1. Alternatively, the image processing apparatus 2 may set the update storage deadline based on the number of days between the document creation date included in the document D1 and the date on the deadline display 100. For example, the update storage deadline is set by adding the number of days between the document creation date and the date of the deadline display 100 to the print execution date.

  When the update storage time limit is set, the image processing apparatus 2 deletes the time limit display 100 added to the document D1 (step S57) and ends the process. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the deadline display 100 that has already passed from being added to the document D1 and being printed out.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a specific processing procedure of the job generation process (step S15 in FIG. 7). First, the image processing apparatus 2 determines whether or not the time limit display 100 is added to the document D1 (step S61). When the time limit display 100 is not added to the document D1 (NO in step S61), the image processing apparatus 2 determines whether or not the storage time limit 94 has been set for the document D1 (step S63). If the storage deadline 94 has been set for the document D1 (YES in step S63), a deadline display 100 is added to the document D1 based on the set storage deadline 94.

  In step S61, if the time limit display 100 is added to the document D1 (YES in step S61), the processes in steps S63 and S65 are skipped. Next, the image processing apparatus 2 generates a print job J1 (step S67), and transmits the generated print job J1 to the print output apparatus 3 (step S69). Finally, the image processing apparatus 2 ends the driver 32 (step S73) and ends the job generation process.

  In step S63, when the storage deadline 94 has not been set for the document D1 (NO in step S63), the image processing apparatus 2 displays an error message on the display unit 9 (step S71). This error message notifies the user that the print job J1 for printing out the document D1 is not generated because the storage period 94 is not set. When the error message is displayed on the display unit 9, the image processing apparatus 2 terminates the driver 32 (step S73) and terminates the job generation process.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The same components as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. In the first embodiment, in the image processing apparatus 2 constituting the image processing system 1, the CPU 16 functions as the driver 32 by executing the driver program 20, and the driver 32 displays a time limit on the document D 1 that is image data. The case where the print job J1 to which 100 is added is generated has been described. In the second embodiment, when the image processing apparatus 200 receives a print job J10 for printing the document D10, a case where a time limit display 100 is added to the document D10 included in the print job J10 is shown. In the second embodiment, a case will be described in which a scan process is executed based on the document P10 by the image processing apparatus 200, and a time limit display 100 is added to the document D10 that is the acquired image data.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image processing system 190 according to the second embodiment. The image processing system 190 includes an information processing apparatus 194 that can generate a print job of image data, and an image processing apparatus 200 that is connected to the network 5 and can receive a print job from the information processing apparatus 194 via the network 5. Prepare.

  The information processing apparatus 194 can generate a print job J10 that causes the image processing apparatus 200 to print out image data generated based on an application (not shown). The information processing apparatus 194 adds the application information that generated the image data to the header of the print job J10, for example, and transmits it to the image processing apparatus 200.

  The image processing apparatus 200 includes, for example, an MFP (Multi Functional Peripherals), and includes a printer unit 208 capable of executing print output and a scanner unit 212 having a scanning function. When the image processing apparatus 200 receives the print job J10 transmitted from the information processing apparatus 194, the image processing apparatus 200 acquires image data included in the print job J10 and detects the storage expiration information 90. When the storage deadline information 90 is detected, the image processing apparatus 200 sets a storage deadline 94 corresponding to the detected storage deadline information 90. Then, based on the set storage deadline 94, the deadline display 100 is added to the image data included in the print job J10, the print job J10 is executed, and the document P12 with the deadline display 100 added is output.

  Further, the image processing apparatus 200 can execute a scan process for the document P10. When the image processing apparatus 200 acquires a document D10 (not shown) generated by the scanning process for the document P1, the image processing apparatus 200 detects the storage expiration information 90 based on the document D10. When the storage deadline information 90 is detected, a storage deadline 94 corresponding to the detected storage deadline information 90 is set, and a deadline display 100 based on the storage deadline 94 is added to the document D10 to generate a print job J11. Execute and output the document P12 on which the deadline display 100 is displayed.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration and a functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 200. The image processing apparatus 200 includes an operation panel 202 having an operation unit 214 and a display unit 216, a control unit 204, a storage device 206 including a hard disk drive (HDD), a printer unit 208, a scanner unit 212, and the like. Is provided. The control unit 204 includes a job execution unit 220 that can execute a print job. When the time limit display 100 is added to the image data, the job execution unit 220 generates the print job J11 based on the image data to which the time limit display 100 is added, and executes the generated print job J11. .

  When the time limit display 100 is not added to the image data, the job execution unit 220 prohibits the generation of the print job J11 based on the image data, or the job execution unit 220 prohibits the execution of the print job J11. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the document P12 to which the time limit display 100 is not added from being generated.

  When the print job J10 is received from the information processing apparatus 194, the time limit display adding unit 60 adds the time limit display 100 to the image data included in the print job J10. Then, the job execution unit 220 outputs the document P12 to which the time limit display 100 is added by executing the print job J10.

(Modification)
Although the embodiment related to the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the contents described in the above embodiment, and various modifications can be applied.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above, the image processing apparatus 2 and the image processing apparatus 200 are both provided with the determination unit 54. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the image processing device 2 and the image processing device 200 may not include the determination unit 54.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the case where the time limit setting information 26 and the detection setting information 28 are stored in the image processing apparatus 2 and the image processing apparatus 200 in advance has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and either or both of the time limit setting information 26 and the detection setting information 28 may be stored in a server accessible via the network 5, for example. In this case, the image processing apparatus 2 or the image processing apparatus 200 accesses this server and refers to either or both of the time limit setting information 26 and the detection setting information 28.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image processing system 2 Image processing apparatus (image processing apparatus)
3. Print output device (print output device)
18 Storage unit (storage means)
26 Time limit setting information (Time limit setting information)
20 Driver program (program)
50 Instruction receiving unit (instruction receiving means)
52 Image acquisition unit (image acquisition means)
54 Discrimination part (discrimination means)
56 Time Limit Information Detection Unit (Time Limit Information Detection Means)
58 Time limit setting section (Time limit setting means)
60 Time limit display giving unit (time limit adding means)
62 Job sending section (job sending means)
70 Input request part (request means)
90 Storage period information (Storage period information)
94 Storage period (storage period)
100 Time limit display (Time limit display)

Claims (18)

Image acquisition means for acquiring image data;
Time limit information detecting means for detecting storage time limit information for determining a storage time limit of the print medium on which the image data acquired by the image acquisition means is printed, based on the image data;
When the storage deadline information is detected by the deadline information detection unit, a deadline setting unit that sets the storage deadline based on the detected storage deadline information;
Time limit adding means for adding a time limit display based on the storage time limit set by the time limit setting means to the image data;
An image processing apparatus comprising: Storage means for preliminarily storing time limit setting information for associating the storage time limit information with the storage time limit;
Further comprising
The time limit setting means refers to the time limit setting information stored in the storage means, and sets the storage time limit corresponding to the storage time limit information detected by the time limit information detection means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. The time limit information detecting means detects predetermined attribute information of the image data as the storage time limit information,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the time limit setting unit sets the storage time limit according to the predetermined attribute information detected by the time limit information detection unit.   4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the time limit information detection unit detects the storage time limit information by analyzing the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit. 5. Request means for requesting the user to input the storage deadline when the storage deadline information is not detected by the deadline information detection means;
Further comprising
2. The time limit adding unit, when the storage time limit is input in response to a request from the request unit, adds a time limit display to the image data based on the input storage time limit. 5. The image processing apparatus according to any one of 4 to 4. Instruction receiving means for receiving a print instruction input;
Job execution means for executing a print job;
Further comprising
The image acquisition means acquires the image data when a print instruction input is received by the instruction reception means,
The job execution means executes a print job based on the image data to which the time limit display is added and adds the time limit display to the image data when the time limit display is added to the image data. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein execution of a print job based on the image data is restricted when the image data is not used. Instruction receiving means for receiving a print instruction input;
Job transmission means for generating a print job and transmitting the generated print job to a predetermined print output device;
Further comprising
The image acquisition unit acquires the image data when the print instruction input is received by the instruction reception unit;
6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the job transmission unit restricts generation or transmission of a print job based on the image data when the time limit display is not added. . Determining means for determining whether or not the time limit display is added to the image data acquired by the image acquiring means;
Further comprising
8. The expiration date information detection unit does not detect the storage expiration information when the determination unit determines that the expiration date display is added to the image data. The image processing apparatus according to any one of the above. The time limit setting means sets an update storage time limit based on the time limit display when it is determined by the determination means that the time limit display is added,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the time limit adding unit replaces the time limit display with a time limit display corresponding to the update storage time limit. A program executed in the image processing apparatus,
The image processing apparatus;
Image acquisition means for acquiring image data;
Time limit information detection means for detecting storage time limit information for determining a storage time limit of a print medium on which the image data acquired by the image acquisition means is printed, based on the image data;
When the storage deadline information is detected by the deadline information detection unit, a deadline setting unit that sets the storage deadline based on the detected storage deadline information, and
Time limit adding means for adding a time limit display based on the storage time limit set by the time limit setting means to the image data;
A program characterized by functioning as The image processing apparatus includes a storage unit that stores in advance expiration setting information that associates the storage expiration information with the storage expiration.
The time limit setting means refers to the time limit setting information stored in the storage means, and sets the storage time limit corresponding to the storage time limit information detected by the time limit information detection means. The program according to claim 10. The time limit information detecting means detects predetermined attribute information of the image data as the storage time limit information,
The program according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the time limit setting means sets the storage time limit according to the predetermined attribute information detected by the time limit information detection means.   The program according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the time limit information detection unit detects the storage time limit information by analyzing the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit. The image processing apparatus;
Request means for requesting the user to input the storage deadline when the storage deadline information is not detected by the deadline information detection means;
Further function as
11. The time limit adding unit adds a time limit display to the image data based on the input storage time limit when the storage time limit is input in response to a request from the request unit. The program in any one of thru | or 13. The image processing apparatus;
Determining means for determining whether or not the time limit display is added to the image data acquired by the image acquiring means;
Further function as
15. The expiration date information detection unit does not detect the storage expiration information when the determination unit determines that the expiration date display is added to the image data. The program according to any one. The time limit setting means sets an update storage time limit based on the time limit display when it is determined by the determination means that the time limit display is added,
16. The program according to claim 15, wherein the time limit adding unit replaces the time limit display with a time limit display corresponding to the update storage time limit. The image processing apparatus;
Instruction receiving means for receiving a print instruction input; and
Job execution means for executing a print job,
Further function as
The image acquisition means acquires the image data when a print instruction input is received by the instruction reception means,
The job execution means executes a print job based on the image data to which the time limit display is added and adds the time limit display to the image data when the time limit display is added to the image data. The program according to any one of claims 10 to 16, wherein execution of a print job based on the image data is restricted when the print job is not performed. The image processing apparatus;
An instruction receiving means for receiving a print instruction input, and a job transmission means for generating a print job and transmitting the generated print job to a predetermined print output device;
Further function as
The image acquisition unit acquires the image data when the print instruction input is received by the instruction reception unit;
The program according to any one of claims 10 to 16, wherein the job transmission unit restricts generation or transmission of a print job based on the image data when the time limit display is not added.

Images